Apocalypse Rising Series

Book One: From Ashes

This story is hereby dedicated to two of my favorite canines, one who was judged unfairly by human beings and paid the ultimate price. "Not all monsters do monstrous things."

Also, to my own dog, who fought through her pain and showed an insurmountable bravery during such a short life and in the face of inescapable mortality. "If nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do."

Rest well, Sarge and Kharma.

x

"If you stare at the center of the universe, there is a coldness there. A blankness. Ultimately, the universe doesn't care about us. Time doesn't care about us. That's why we have to care about each other."

- Every Day, David Levithan

Prologue

Maddie's life seemed to revolve around two fundamental principles, the first of these being that anywhere she needed to be, she could run to get there. No car or bike, just the feel of her lungs burning and the sound of her boots forging her path forward. The second of these principles was that there would one day be nowhere left for her to run.

That night, she ran. She sprinted away from everything she knew.

She thought of the power that once coursed through her veins and how often it scared her over the past nine years of her life. She thought of the girls just like her, with the same fears and, ultimately, the same destination.

Into every generation...

She didn't know how far she was from the school or how close she was to the edge of Beacon Hills Preserve. She had no idea how long she was running but she kept going, every step an ellipsis on a sentence she didn't get to finish.

Her ax jostled around her messenger bag, tugging at her shoulder and neck. Her side ached and felt as though it was about to tear open again. Her other shoulder felt like it was on fire every time she moved her arm too much. The phantom itch of the scar on her stomach nagged at her, now more than ever. The wounds of a soldier in an endless war.

The Chosen are born.

The trees cast blurred shadows on her skin and her legs begged her to stop. Twigs and leaves crunched under her boots, a speeding percussion in her ears. A clock counting down too quickly and her breathing became more and more ragged.

She tripped, stumbling and only barely catching herself on thick tree. There were only a few more feet before she reached the field. She sucked in a breath and coughed.

Girls bestowed with the strength and skill to hunt vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness.

The stillness brought everything back. The breeze hit her sweat coated skin and she wished she still had her leather jacket. The chill reminded her of everything that she was leaving, the shadows of a life she never wanted and the stars that she couldn't reach.

She dug her phone out from a pocket on her bag as the light temporarily blinded her. She dialed a number she never called and shouldn't know by heart, raising the brick to her ear.

One ring.

Maddie was still gasping for air, pain shooting through her lungs and her healing wounds.

Two rings.

The silence and the static felt like a door closing. This was better. This way, she didn't need to explain more than she wanted.

Three rings and nothing.

Her stomach coiled and she could feel herself gripping the phone so tightly that it was moments from being smashed to pieces in her hand. It was the only thing that would keep her hand steady though; the only thing stopping her from shattering into weak, defenseless shards, ready to be ground into the dirt - right where she always knew she'd end up. The effort it took to get her there was so little that it made her sick.

The fourth ring sounded and she held her breath, the sounds of leaves rustling blending seamlessly with the white noise.

"Hey! I'm not here right now! Leave a message and I'll get back to you ASAP!"

The words felt leaden as her heart dropped like a stone into her gut when she heard the voice. Despite it being prerecorded, the familiarity stung. The levity in it felt like another time, a better time that was so far away from her now. It reminded her of a kind woman comforting a weeping child, her voice soft but heavy with guilt as she apologized over and over again. It reminded her more of her cheek stinging in a moment of horror but she tried to focus on something else, something better.

The cross hanging from the thin silver chain around her neck felt heavier against her chest than before. When the long beep rang in her ear, she swallowed.

To stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers.

"Buffy..." The name felt foreign on her tongue and fizzled out on her lips, taking her courage with it. Part of her felt like a child, lost and too far from home. Worse, the other part of her felt like a shadow; like she was already a memory. Dark strands of hair spilled into her face and she didn't bother tucking them back as they hid her glossy eyes. Eyes that held over a year horrors, of loss. Of fear and sleepless nights. Of little more than pain. She felt a sob threatening to choke her breath and held it down.

"Something's happened..." she forced out. "Something's wrong."

Moonlight spread across the field ahead and the shadows of the trees reached across the grass like skeletal hands crawling out of the dark.

"I didn't call for back up. I, um- I think it's too late for that. I just wanted..." Her stomach knotted. Just wanted what? Forgiveness? To apologize? To tell you how much I screwed up? No, not quite any of that. She needed the truth from the only person who could possibly make it matter. The only person who could know what she was facing. "I know what's coming and I-...I can't stop it. I just needed some advice."

She gripped the bark of the tree with her free hand, trying to settle her nerves. Trying to think of anything but what she was leaving behind.

"I mean, um, I guess you'd know what..." She pushed the choking sob in her chest down again. Now wasn't the time to break. There was so little time left that every moment felt larger and more important, but scarce. Time had a way of betraying you like that, she knew. Her voice escaped again, this time much quieter. "...what it feels like. Maybe then I won't be so afraid when it happens."

They are Vampire Slayers.

Her throat was dry but her skin was coated in a thin layer of sweat and her eyes were still rimmed with tears. She clenched her teeth and her fists as tightly as she could without breaking anything, to stop the scream that was threatening to tear through her. "...I think I'm about to die."

And this is the beginning of the end of the world.

†

Seven Months Before

His pace didn't slow when he entered the living room until he came to a complete halt at the side table where the phone was set. One of two landline phones left in the house, mostly for emergency and hardly used otherwise. He roughly picked up the receiver and was about to hit the first number when his wife entered the room, horror in her intense blue gaze. "Chris, what do you think you're doing?"

"Using our last resort." Tonight was too close of a call and if anything had happened to Allison, he'd only blame himself for not taking the extra precaution earlier.

Victoria shook her head furiously. "No. No, you can't mean-"

"What choice do we have?!" He looked up from the phone to his wife, his own stare burning intently into hers. "There are two betas on the loose out there and an out of control Alpha. If those betas join its pack, we won't have the strength to stop them. You know that."

"But you can't rely on help from them. Yes, the council kept them in line once upon a time but they're gone!" There was a pain in her voice Chris hadn't heard in years and let out a frustrated sigh as he looked away, almost ashamed. The redheaded woman clenched her jaw before speaking again. "They're just as dangerous as the wolves now. Maybe more. There has to be another way!"

His resolve returning at full force, he looked back at her with a hardened stare."I'm sorry. If you can think of another way, fine - but it's been ten years now. If we can't trust a god damn vampire slayer, who can we trust?"